And Here We Were
Auschwitz
Concentration Camps
Shaved Heads
I just don’t want to live
You Worthless Jew
"Jews Out!"
"Heil Hitler"
"We need to get rid of all you"
A prisoner’s number,
Confusion,
Darkness,
It was very uncomfortable
Wearing flannel pajamas
You Worthless Jew
"Never gave us any food"
"I couldn’t see"
The hatred was so blind
Be careful! A Jew will catch you in a bag and eat you.
My mother was no longer alive
You Worthless Jew
“Where is God?”
“What’s going on?”
"They took away my identity"
Can you imagine?
Put them in the oven
They changed the color of our eyes
And they put us in a dungeon
You Worthless Jew
"The Walking Dead"
"The inhumanity of man against man"
Then the bodies were thrown over the fire
Hundred of inmates
Cremated every day as an example
Why did I survive?
Why did God spare me?
You Worthless Jew
"Returning to freedom was very difficult"
"Not coming back here anymore"
Rationale
I choose the words “You Worthless Jew” as my centralizing theme because it shows just how bad the Jews were treated during the horror known as the Holocaust. During the rule of Hitler he needed someone to blame for all of the problems in Germany, so he chose the Jews. I repeated “You Worthless Jew” in each stanza because I wanted to emphasize this idea that Hitler planted in the people of Germany. After stating this theme in every stanza, I would use phrases that would show how the Jews felt at that particular time. For example I included "Not coming back here anymore" in the last stanza after the theme because many survivors of the Holocaust never wanted to go back to the concentration camps because they didn't want to remember what they saw and what horrible things they went through. Another example is in the 3rd stanza when I put the "Walking Dead" after my theme because the Jews suffered so much from starvation and hunger that all of their bones were showing. Another thing relating to theme is when I said that they were cremated every day like they were “worthless.” In each stanza I went through the stages that the Jews went through from their entering to Auschwitz to the few who survived thereafter. At first the Jews were confused as to where they were. As time went on they started to realize that they were sent to Auschwitz to be treated like filthy dogs all because of their religion. It was too late by then however. The Jews were cremated and some died of starvation and hunger. At the end of my poem I say how the few who survived never want to come back to the concentration camps ever again. Millions and millions of innocent lives were destroyed during the tragic event of the Holocaust. By creating poems like this, we can open our eyes to this tragic event and learn that something like the Holocaust should never happen again.
By Adeel Minhas
And Here We Were
Auschwitz
Concentration Camps
Shaved Heads
I just don’t want to live
You Worthless Jew
"Jews Out!"
"Heil Hitler"
"We need to get rid of all you"
A prisoner’s number,
Confusion,
Darkness,
It was very uncomfortable
Wearing flannel pajamas
You Worthless Jew
"Never gave us any food"
"I couldn’t see"
The hatred was so blind
Be careful! A Jew will catch you in a bag and eat you.
My mother was no longer alive
You Worthless Jew
“Where is God?”
“What’s going on?”
"They took away my identity"
Can you imagine?
Put them in the oven
They changed the color of our eyes
And they put us in a dungeon
You Worthless Jew
"The Walking Dead"
"The inhumanity of man against man"
Then the bodies were thrown over the fire
Hundred of inmates
Cremated every day as an example
Why did I survive?
Why did God spare me?
You Worthless Jew
"Returning to freedom was very difficult"
"Not coming back here anymore"
Rationale
I choose the words “You Worthless Jew” as my centralizing theme because it shows just how bad the Jews were treated during the horror known as the Holocaust. During the rule of Hitler he needed someone to blame for all of the problems in Germany, so he chose the Jews. I repeated “You Worthless Jew” in each stanza because I wanted to emphasize this idea that Hitler planted in the people of Germany. After stating this theme in every stanza, I would use phrases that would show how the Jews felt at that particular time. For example I included "Not coming back here anymore" in the last stanza after the theme because many survivors of the Holocaust never wanted to go back to the concentration camps because they didn't want to remember what they saw and what horrible things they went through. Another example is in the 3rd stanza when I put the "Walking Dead" after my theme because the Jews suffered so much from starvation and hunger that all of their bones were showing. Another thing relating to theme is when I said that they were cremated every day like they were “worthless.” In each stanza I went through the stages that the Jews went through from their entering to Auschwitz to the few who survived thereafter. At first the Jews were confused as to where they were. As time went on they started to realize that they were sent to Auschwitz to be treated like filthy dogs all because of their religion. It was too late by then however. The Jews were cremated and some died of starvation and hunger. At the end of my poem I say how the few who survived never want to come back to the concentration camps ever again. Millions and millions of innocent lives were destroyed during the tragic event of the Holocaust. By creating poems like this, we can open our eyes to this tragic event and learn that something like the Holocaust should never happen again.